


served with love

by commandont



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Fluff, Non-HPA AU, coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-28
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-06-17 11:12:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15460092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/commandont/pseuds/commandont
Summary: it was her quaint little life, and nothing was going to go wrong. at least, that's what she hoped for.--Mukuro Ikusaba wanted to know more about the girl with flowers in her hair.





	served with love

**Author's Note:**

> This is a VERY late birthday fic for my dear friend Vee. Thank you so much for being my friend for so long, and I hope we can continue to be friends into the near future as well!!
> 
> IKUZONO IS SO CUTE AND ALSO I'VE NEVER WRITTEN A COFFEE SHOP AU BEFORE IIRC?? THEY'RE SO FUN I LOVE... COFFEE HOUSES
> 
> also! i snuck in some v3 cameos, guess who! :3c

The Enoshima coffee house wasn't exactly the biggest on this side of Kyoto, but what it made up for in queues of customers, it made up for in character. Junko Enoshima, part time barista and part time model, was no doubt a sight to be seen. Always smiling and laughing, she was naturally a people person. After inheriting the coffee house from her parents who passed only a few years ago, she had split her dream career in half to dedicate her heart to her parent's dream. Many called her selfless, but in response she'd simply turn and smile with a denial - she was modest, beautiful, and overall, perfect.

 

And then there was her twin sister.

 

Now, it shouldn't be twisted - Mukuro loved her sister, and that much should be obvious. The two were almost always together, and in the downtime were sat in the back, laughing about the day over coffee made from the beans they were supposed to give to customers. While Junko got all the attention and praise, Mukuro did the actual work. Mukuro ordered the stock, ran the till and managed the rent and extraneous costs, while all Junko did was smile and wave (she never really had the attention span for all this 'important stuff' anyways). She wasn't as charismatic as Junko, or as pretty, but she never wanted to be. Her sister and she were two separate people, and she knew that behind everything, Junko loved her as much as Mukuro loved Junko.

 

Their little cafe was on a street corner in the quieter business district of Kyoto. The stalls were often the sight for impromptu meetings, or family gatherings of a couple and their few children while they were passing by. Sometimes it could get rather busy, but mostly, it was a quiet little space. Mukuro loved it. While she never imagined this is where she'd be in her early twenties, she can't say she was totally unhappy with her situation. She wasn't homeless, so that was a massive plus. It was her quaint little life, and nothing was going to go wrong. At least, that's what she hoped for.

 

It was another quiet day - Tuesday, early morning - and not many people were in. Even Junko, who was not a morning person, hadn't shown up yet. It was just Mukuro, one stall full with a young couple (two girls, one looking very tired with a cup of black coffee and her girlfriend - a smiling girl in glasses, with a cup of ice tea) and now, the sound of guitar strings being pulled just outside the door. Mukuro looked up from the counter to the window outside, watching a girl fiddle around with a guitar just outside the cafe door. Normally, she'd ask local buskers and musicians to migrate somewhere else besides the doorway, but... there was something about the girl that didn't make her wants to do that. Was it the flowery summer dress she wore, or the fact that she was one of the first musicians around here that wasn't an arrogant teenage boy in way over their head? Mukuro moved her hand off of the cloth, and stepped away from the counter, opening the door and pausing as the jiggle above her head alerted the musician to look up, with bright blue eyes.

"Ah!" Her voice was quiet, and she gave a sheepish smile. "Am I, uh, not supposed to be here?"

"Uh, yeah, sorry." Now she just looked like a bit of a dick. Mukuro shook her head slightly. She noticed now the girl's hair, done in a side braid, was decorated very delicately with flowers. "You've been through this song and dance before?"

The girl was packing her guitar back into her case now, clicking the locks shut as she nodded. "All yesterday. I swear, I thought the city would be my big break-"

"You're new here?"

"Ah, yes! I've always wanted to be a musician and, well, this is how they started on the TV, so I..." She paused, standing to her feet as she mounted the case to her back again, before laughing and pushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "That sounds a little silly now I say it out loud, huh?"

It did, a little, but there was no way Mukuro was going to say it out loud. Her dreams already looked fragile enough as it was. She looked around for a moment, before holding the door open. "A drink? On the house."

The girl's face lit up at the proposition, and she bowed before trying to enter the coffee house - 'try' being the keyword, as at first, her guitar case got her stuck and stared at, before eventually, she took it off of her shoulder and simply carried it inside, resting it against the counter.

 

Her name was Sayaka Maizono, she'd said. A country girl, she lived with her dad who was often away all week, meaning the only company she had was herself and the TV where she learned all about city life - or at least, the ideals of it. She sturred her latte idly with a stick, holding her hand with her cheek. Quiet piano music played over the radio, filling the room with a heavenly melody, and a calming atmosphere.

"Papa saw me off at the train station. He booked the whole week off just to prepare for me leaving. Got him in some really hot water with his boss, but he said it was worth it because he got to see his little girl following her dreams." She let out a short laugh, if you could even call it that, and despite the smile on her face being sickeningly bittersweet, there were tears pricking the corners of her eyes.  "The thing is, now I guess I'm... scared to call him and tell him things aren't going so well. I wanna keep going but... I also really want to go home." Mukuro watched her sigh and cross her arms against the counter, before moving her arms to the side braid resting against her shoulders, fingers fiddling with the fake flower petals resting within the cross-folds. “Your father… he sounds like a decent guy.”

“Decent enough. I love him to pieces, he’s the only family I really have, after all. Even if he isn’t here all that often.”

Oh god, that was relatable. The barista looked back on thoughts of Junko for a moment, before grabbing another cup and pouring herself a cup of coffee - black - almost as a distraction. Steaming hot, she took a sip without flinching (she’d grown used to the heat after all this time) before looking back to the young musician who was staring at her with big, blue eyes… and had been for some time, apparently, as she was blinking almost expectantly. Mukuro felt her face heat up, and quickly took another sip of coffee to try and mask it, though hearing the quiet laughter just in front of her as she closed her eyes told her she’d failed.

“You’re a strange one, Ikusaba-san… I think I’d like to come here more often. Is that OK?”

She practically slammed her mug down, now empty after chugging her drink in embarrassment. “Ah, yes, of course… you’re paying for your drink next time, though. You’ll run us out of business if you don’t.”

Another giggle - it was like… fantasy, a fairy dancing on the wind with its delicacy and daintiness “Sure, why not? I’d be happy to. Thank you, again. This means a lot to me. See you around.”

Maizono pushed her stool away from the counter, quietly cringing at the loud screech it made against the floor, before she grabbed her guitar and headed for the door. The bell twinkled above her head, and she turned to give a final wave, almost bumping into the girl in large twin tails making her way through the door. Said girl took off her sunglasses, looked back at the girl now running down the street, then back to Mukuro, whose hand still hung in the air with a wave. A grin spread across her face.

“Mukuro-chan has a girlfriend?”

Mukuro frowned deeply. “Junko, you’re late-“

“And you’re totally smitten!”

“Put your apron on, or I’ll make you eat it.”

The blonde girl laughed, tucking her glasses into her handbag and rushing to the back room to put both that and her coat away, leaving Mukuro in the sombre half-silence of the almost empty cafe and the quiet radio.

 

Who was she kidding? Junko was right. She was deeply, hopelessly in love with the new girl in town.

\--

From that day on, Maizono was a frequent patron of Enoshima Coffee.

 

Mukuro didn’t know why she kept coming back - she thought the girl asking for permission was nothing more than a rouse, an awkward conversation ender - because there were plenty of other, better, easier to access cafes throughout the city, some with more space and other benefits compared to their little hole-in-the-wall place. But despite that, she always came back. It was almost routine when she came in, daily, guitar case in hand, the same order of a coffee with cream and sugar, and the same polite, delightful conversation about, well… almost anything. She even started coming in on weekends, still smiling, still happy, and still donning the same pretty flowers in her hair. She was stunning, like an angel fallen from on high. Sayaka Maizono, the city girl with the fairy laughter, had Mukuro head over heels, feeling a burning in her heart and face that she never felt before.

 

Monday evening. The sign read ‘CLOSED’, and there was no one in the shop beside her and her sister. As Mukuro cleaned the counter down with a cloth, she heard a loud, clearly exaggerated-for-attention sigh, and practically rolled her eyes over to look at her sister, who laid face down against the counter, arms dramatically laying next to her.

“...I just cleaned that.”

She shot up with a scowl. “And?! That’s not my point, Mukuro-chan! It’s been  _ weeks _ since Maizono-san showed her cute little butt in here, and you’re totally into her!”

“I-I-”

“And don’t even  _ try _ to deny it! Everyone can see it - hell, I think even  _ she _ can see it from, like, decades away!” Junko slammed her fists down indignantly, before a sly smile spread across her face, and she pointed a finger, one with a perfectly manicured nail, of course, at her older sister. “You tell her how you feel. Tomorrow. Or I’ll tell her for you.”

Mukuro felt her face boiling with heat under the surface of her cheeks, both out of embarrassment and anger at this borderline-blackmail attempt. “N-no! I won’t, I…”

“...You’re scared she won’t like you back, huh?”

Mukuro paused for a moment, looking away from Junko before she nodded. She was a nervous type naturally, but not to mention, finding a girl who liked girls in this city was hard enough as it is. If Maizono wasn’t like that, then… the rejection was going to be crushing.

“...Mukuro-chan. Trust my gut, OK?”

“...”

“OK?” Junko’s tone got firmer, and her brow furrowed as Mukuro slowly looked over, softening slightly as her eyes met her sister's. “I’m the best matchmaker, like, ever! Trust your little sister a little, got it?”

“...Of course, Junko. I… ah, I’ll try-”

“Great!” Mission accomplished, Junko practically sprang to her feet, grabbing the mop leaning against the wall next to the door of the backroom and dipping it in the water of the bucket. Mukuro watched her sister clean, before going back to her own endeavours. Tomorrow… she had to do it tomorrow.

\--

Maizono usually arrived just after lunchtime for her daily drink and conversation. It was almost time. The cafe was empty, aside from a young man with green hair working on his laptop (college project, Mukuro assumed from a glance). She’d cleaned the same glass over and over again for the past hour, and she could almost feel the lump of nervousness and anticipation in her throat as the clock ticked over to 12:01.

There was a twinkling at the door, the bell sound ringing in her ears and her eyes fell down to the familiar girl in blue hair, hair done today in twin braids, complete with the signature flowers. She smiled and waved at Mukuro, before skipping over and sitting in the seat directly in front of the barista as she leaned her guitar case upright against the counter, who now made an effort to avoid eye contact as she grabbed a coffee mug and placed it under the coffee machine, bending down to grab a bag of beans to blend, the pressure weighing down on her shoulders almost pushing her into the ground… where, honestly, she would rather be.

There was a giggling from behind her as she tipped the beans into their designated position - the same, surreally perfect laugh as always. “You’ve learned to expect me, huh, Ikusaba-san?”

“I, ah… yes, I have. You’re always so uniform, I’ve grown accustomed to it.”

“Ah, well… I’m glad. I wouldn’t want to be late. This is my favourite time of day!”

...Favourite time of day? Was that simply a casual comment or an illusion to something more? Mukuro never really paid attention before - damn Junko for putting the idea into her head that she had a chance with this amazing girl.

 

Once the cream and sugar had settled, Mukuro finally turned to Maizono and placed the cup on the counter. She said thank you, with a polite smile, placing her hands on the mug- “Ah, Ikusaba-san, you’re still…”

Mukuro blinked, before looking down… her hand was still holding the cup, and Maizono’s had was on top of hers. Blushing heavily, she pulled her hand away and hid it behind her back. “Uh, sorry, my apologies.”

“It’s… OK.” While she looked a little confused, she quickly brushed it off and took a drink, before placing the cup back down on her counter, nursing it very gently. “Slow day?”

“Ah, yes, very slow. Slow day, indeed.” Her eyes looked over at the college boy for a moment, who glanced over from the rim of his teacup and smiled. It was as if this stranger knew her pain. Was she really as transparent as Junko claimed? Her stomach knotted at the very thought.

Maizono frowned softly for a moment. “You’re looking… kinda pale, and really flush. Are you, um… OK?”

“Me?” She jumped slightly, before forcing a laugh… cringing at just how forced it really sounded, even to her. “No, I’m fine-”

There was another twinkling of the door bell to abruptly end her transparent excuse, and as caught the gaze of Junko who strolled in with a smile, her eyes narrowing expectantly as she took off her sunglasses and passed Mukuro by with only a hello to Maizono, heading for the back room. It was now or never.

“...Actually, maybe not. Um, Maizono-san, pardon me, but I… I have a… question.”

“Oh?” Maizono shuffled in her seat, looking rather interestedly at Mukuro with her big, blue, beautiful eyes… god, they were so pretty. 

She gulped and sighed, shaking her head almost as a sign of self-assurance. “I was, uhm… wondering, maybe if… you’re available at some point this week? If you’re not it’s fine, please forget I ever asked, but-”

“Are you… asking for a date?”

She almost choked on the words she was barely able to get out. “A-ah, uhm, well, I- ...Yes.”

The musician blinked for a moment, before she snickered - not in a rude way, but rather, trying (and failing) to conceal a giggling fit that overcame her… much to Mukuro’s confusion.

“Ah… Maizono-san?”

She covered her mouth as she attempted to regain control, but a smile of amusement nonetheless remained on her face. “I-I’m sorry, Ikusaba-san, I don’t mean to laugh at your expense, but I… I thought  _ these _ were like… dates.”

“T… these?”

“Y-yeah, I mean…” She coughed and shuffled where she sat again, signalling with open hands to her coffee mug, and to the both of them. “Isn’t this… kinda what happens on a date. Two people, who may or may not be in love, talking over drinks?”

The barista paused, looking between Maizono and her half-empty mug, before laughing rather shallowly. “I… well, I suppose-”

“ _ But _ … if you want to go to a nice place, I… think I found one the other day. I was going to ask you to come to scout it with me soon, but…” She laughed in a much more controlled way now, her cheeks growing pink as she gathered her words. “...I guess fate has a funny way of twisting things, huh?”

“I… I suppose it does.”

“So, that’s an official date, right? Next… hm- wait, no. This Saturday. You don’t take waiting and pressure too well, I take it.”

“Ah- no, not really… especially when… ah, well-”

“No, no, go ahead.”

Dammit, she’d been too bold. Mukuro gulped. “Well… especially when… there’s a cute girl in front of me.”

Maizono paused, blushing harder than previously, before giggling lightly. “Oh, you fox, you.”

 

After a little more small talk (and flirting back and forth, perhaps, leaving them both in a flustered mess), Maizono finally slung her guitar over her shoulder again, and headed for the door. She paused for a moment, before turning back. “I… I’ll look forward to seeing you on Saturday!”

“Ah, you too, Maizono-san!”

She nodded, before walking out of the door, waving at Mukuro through the window. She responded in kind, leaving her hand hanging in the air once Maizono was out of view.

 

A wide smile spread across her face. Her heart was in her mouth.

 

She was going on a date with the girl with flowers in her hair. And she couldn’t be happier.


End file.
